Different
by mildgothic333
Summary: a girl comes to Konoha to visit her cousin. She ends up being put on a team for missions during her stay. Who is she visiting, what wacky adventures will she get into while she is on her first big mission? TEMPORARILY ON HOLD mild romance
1. Chapter 1

_**Different**_

Ch. 1

_Why do they hate me? _

_It's not my fault I'm different._

_They call me names,_

_Things that I don't think I am._

_Things that hurt on the inside, _

_That make me want to die._

_I must accept it._

_I am a Bakemono._

_I am a half – demon, a half – breed._

_I am Sakura._

Standing in the Hokage's office, Kiba and the rest of is chuunin team (see manga chapters from along with their sensei Kurenai, were waiting for their next mission. They had been informed the previous day that there would be a temporary addition to their team, due to the fact the Hidden Mist ninja was visiting a cousin in the Hidden Leaves, and was going to be staying for a while.

"Okay, let me introduce your new and temporary teammate…" Said Tsunade, the fifth Hokage.

"Bring in our guest!" She said to one of her assistants.

"Yes, ma'am, " came the reply.

The assistant opened the door, and in walked a girl, who looked no older than Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. She was slightly taller than Hinata, but not quite as tall as Kiba. She wore jeans that came down past her ankles, or so it seemed, because they were rolled up. She had a dark sweatshirt on over a navy blue t-shirt, and black sneakers. She had long black hair that was tied in a ponytail at the base of her neck, and piercing green eyes that felt like they could look right through you. She wore her mist headband loosely around her neck.

"This is Sakura Uchiha. She will be the temporary addition to your team until she departs from Konoha," explained Tsunade.

"Wait a minute…Uchiha!" Kiba stuttered. He thought for a moment, and then…

"So…the cousin…she's visiting…is Sasuke!" Kiba exclaimed, his eyes wide, and his mouth dropping open.

"Yes, and she's a guest here, so I'll expect you to treat her respectfully!" Tsunade said, resting her chin on her hands, which were propped up on her elbows.

Suddenly, Sakura started walking toward Kiba. She stopped about a foot and a half in front of him, and leaned forward, closing her eyes and sniffing the air in front of her.

"You stink," she said. "Haven't you ever heard of taking a bath?"

Hinata's eyes widened, as did Kurenai's. Shino, however, remained expressionless behind the top of his jacket.

Kiba pulled his face away, and, with his fist at shoulder level, said in a very annoyed tone: "Why you little-I'll kill you!"

But before he could do anything, Kurenai pulled him back so he wouldn't hurt Sakura. When he fell on the floor, Akamaru jumped off his head, a little annoyed about the sudden movement. To show his annoyance, he yipped at Kiba.

"Hey, why does she have to be on our team? Why can't she be on Naruto's team? That would make a lot more sense!" Kiba yelled at the Hokage from his spot on the floor.

"She can't be on Naruto's team because of reasons that _your_ underdeveloped mind wouldn't understand fool!" The Hokage shot back at him from her chair.

"Well, anyway, here's some more about her…She's a month older than Sasuke, she loves wolves…"

Kiba and the others watched as Sakura stepped back, and her face became hidden by a shadow.

"…And she's half demon."

The whole room fell silent.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Different**_

Ch. 2

The room was quiet for almost three minutes. Then, Kiba got up and brushed some imaginary dirt of the front of his pants. He looked around the room and said…

"So…we have a half-br-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Sakura had slapped him hard in the face.

SMACK!

Hinata's eyes widened again, but mostly out of concern for Kiba.

Sakura looked like she was about to kill Kiba. He got up off the ground (He got hit so hard, that he fell on the floor), backed away, and questioned her:

"What the hell was that for? All I said was half-br-"

But this time, instead of hitting him, Sakura ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"I don't see what the big deal is about that word!" Kiba said.

Finally, getting annoyed with him, Kurenai explained it.

"Half-breed is a derogatory way of saying half-demon."

"Not only that," Tsunade added, "But it also means that she is nothing, unimportant, lower than trash. It was no surprise, seeing how she reacted like that. You have to remember what happened this time, because it could be worse next time!"

Kiba thought on this a moment and then said…

"But didn't her parents teach her not to hit people? I mean, come on! That really hurt."

Now it was Hinata's turn to speak: " M-maybe it w-was one of those neglectful f-families?"

"No." Tsunade said, lowering her head and looking at her desk. "She's had to survive on her own for most of her life. Her parents were killed when she was only about four years old. Nobody was willing to take care of her because they thought she was a monster, or _Bakemono_, just because her father had been a demon."

The whole group was silent again, thinking about how hard it would be to have no one to take care of you.

"Well!" Tsunade said cheerfully, breaking the silence. "No use thinking about such sad things! Might as well tell you your mission! Okay… today's mission is to travel to Sunagakure with their representative and discuss battle tactics on how to invade Otogakure with the Kazekage."

The team left the office then, thinking about what to do next.

"Well," Kiba said, "I guess I'll just go find Sakura then. I got nothin' better to do, anyway."

With that, the team split up to get ready for the mission.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Different**_

Ch.3

So Kiba went looking for Sakura. He looked everywhere in the village that he could think of, but she wasn't there. He decided to join back up with his team. The first member he found was Hinata.

"Hey Hinata! Wait up!" He called to her.

"Oh! H-hello Kiba."

"Hey Hinata, do you know where Sakura went? I can't find her anywhere!"

"S-sorry, I don't know."

"Oh."

Later, they met up with Shino, and Kiba decided to ask him about it.

"Hey Shino, do you know where Sakura went? I can't find her anywhere!"

"Well, did you check the training ground? She could be over there." Came Shino's reply.

"Hey, I didn't check there. Your right, she could be over there. Let's go check."

And with that, the trio headed off to look for Sakura. They arrived at the training grounds a few minutes later, and there was Sakura, sitting down with her knees up and her head between them. She was panting as though she had been training really hard, and her head came up as she noticed them walking toward her. Suddenly, a white wolf came out from behind a tree and lay down next to her. His coat was as white as snow, and his eyes were yellow. Akamaru jumped in front of the three chuunin and growled at the strange animal.

"Hey Sakura, we got our mission. We have to go to Sand to think of ways to infiltrate Sound. Oh, and what's that wolf doing here? I've never seen a white wolf around here before." Kiba said.

"Oh," Sakura answered. "This is my pet. Well, actually, he's more than a just a pet; He's my best friend. He's been with me since I was three, my father gave him to me."

Akamaru walked up to the wolf and sniffed him. Everyone else watched to see his reaction. Suddenly, Akamaru bent down on his front legs in a playful manner. He pranced all around the wolf, wanting to play. At first, the wolf seemed bored, uncaring, or annoyed with Akamaru's puppy-like behavior. Then, he got up and ran around baring and snapping his teeth. The two animals started playing (if you could call it playing; It was more like wrestling).

Sakura laughed. It was a cheerful laugh, and she had had a smile on her face, but she still had a sad look in her eyes.

"His name's Shinseki. My dad found him in the woods when he was hunting one day. Shinseki's leg had been broken by another hunter's trap."

She paused for a moment, watching them play together. Then she put her hand on her knee and stood up.

" Well, we better get going. Don't wanna be late for the mission. Hey, Shinseki!" She called. "Let's go!"

Kiba called to Akamaru, "C'mon, Akamaru! Let's go!"

Shino decided to comment on the training grounds. "This place looks pretty beat up. What have you been doing?" He asked Sakura.

"Well, um," Sakura replied, "Just, um, practicing…and…stuff."

Just then, Shinseki appeared at her side and she reached down to rub his head. She smiled another sad smile and then started walking away. Hinata, Kiba and Shino followed her out of the training grounds and back into the village.

" I'll meet you guys later. I have to go get my stuff."

With that, Sakura departed in the direction of Sasuke's house.

"C'mon." Kiba said. "Let's go wait for her at the gate."

So they then departed to the village gate to wait for Sakura and Shinseki.

When they got to the gate, Kurenai was already there waiting for them.

"You guys are late. Where have you been? And where's Sakura?"

Hinata decided to answer her: "W-we had to go find her. R-right now though, s-she's on her way here."

Just as Hinata finished talking, Sakura came into view, with Shinseki following close behind. Sakura had her weapons pouch strapped to her leg, and a big sword on her back. The sword was a wide one, with a rose vine emblazoned on the handle. She also had in the back of her hair. Also following her was Temari, Gaara's sister.

"What are you doing here?" Kiba questioned her.

"She's the rep from Suna," Kurenai answered. Then, "Okay. Now that we're all here, let's get going."

And with that, the six ninja departed from Konoha.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Different**_

Ch. 4

The first day that the group traveled went pretty smoothly. They didn't encounter any enemy ninja, or any real obstacles. In fact, the only time that they really had to stop was when it got dark and they had to set up camp.

"Okay," Kurenai said, "first, we need to build a fire. We'll need some wood, so Shino, you and Hinata go find some wood. Sakura, you know how to hunt, right?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I know how to hunt!" Sakura replied defensively.

"Good. You and Kiba can go find the food."

"Hm"

"What can I do?" Temari asked.

"You and I will set up the rest of the camp." Kurenai answered.

So they all set to work, acting on their given assignments.

(Hinata's POV) Being with Shino was always a bit awkward. He never said that much (not that Hinata cared that much about it). He was always hiding behind the collar of his coat, and his expression could never be read because he always wore sunglasses.

Anyway, Hinata decided not to think about these things. She let her mind wander, and she found herself thinking about Naruto, and how he was doing. She was walking behind Shino absent-mindedly, not thinking about what she was doing when she suddenly bumped into him. He had stopped abruptly and was standing in the middle of a circle of trees.

"I'm s-sorry f-for bumping into you, s-Shino." Hinata apologized.

"Hn" was his reply, although the part of his face that was visible didn't look very mad. In fact, it looked rather soft. It was almost as though he was glad that Hinata bumped into him.

Hinata backed away, a little surprised at his reaction. It was gone in a second, though, replaced by his expressionless figure.

' I-I wonder if I really imagined that or not.' Hinata thought to herself. It was indeed strange for Shino to show any emotion at all.

For a long time, Shino was acting normal again as they gathered the wood, so Hinata began to believe that she had just imagined the softness in his face. When their arms were full of wood, they began to head back.

Hinata let her mind wander to Naruto again, and again she didn't watch where she was going. Shino had decided to stop suddenly again, which caused Hinata to bump into him again. This also caused her to drop a lot of the wood she was carrying.

Again Hinata apologized: "I-I'm really s-sorry Shino, f-for bumping into y-you."

Hinata stooped down to pick up the wood she dropped. Shino stood there waiting, and then stooped down to help her. As they got neat the end of the wood on the ground, both of their hands landed on one piece, accidentally touching with Shino's hand on top.

"E-excuse me" Hinata stuttered, and started to pull her hand away, but Shino's was still on top. It squeezed hers a little, before leaving the wood. Hinata looked up at him, and thought she saw a little blush on his face.

"Sorry." Shino said.

Then, he stood up and turned away. Hinata finished gathering the wood, and they headed back to camp.

(Kiba's POV) Apparently, Sakura had decided to bring Shinseki along. Kiba thought that maybe she didn't trust him on his own, or maybe she didn't trust Kurenai with him. Any way, they advanced through the forest until:

"Stop." Sakura said.

"What is it?"

"I smell deer up ahead. If we arrive too suddenly, we'll scare them off."

"Hmph"

Suddenly, there was a black wolf standing in Sakura's place. Its eyes were yellow, with black spots. Shinseki appeared at its side, while Kiba just stood there with his mouth hanging open. Then, the wolf turned around and motioned for him to follow silently. All four of them (counting Akamaru) proceeded to where Sakura had heard the deer.

There was a group of about six of them standing in a clearing, grazing. The black wolf nodded its head twice, telling Kiba not to move. Then, it looked at Shinseki and the two wolves disappeared in a flash of movement.

It all happened so fast that Kiba barely had time to blink. In another flash of movement, the wolves attacked the group of deer. One by one, they went down. The ground was covered in blood. When all the deer were dead, the two wolves stopped moving. Shinseki was standing with his back hunched, panting. The black wolf was standing perfectly straight, like nothing had happened. The only sign that it had been doing anything at all was the blood that dripped out of its mouth.

Then, the black wolf changed into Sakura, and Kiba finally understood where she had gone. Akamaru whined and sniffed the air. Then to Kiba's astonishment, Shinseki also transformed into a human. His hair was pure white, short, except for two pieces in front of his pointed ears, and spiked. He also wore jeans and a sweatshirt, but his clothing was more colorful.

"C'mon," Sakura said, lifting a deer onto her shoulder. Shinseki also lifted one onto his shoulder.

"Oh, I can't wait to eat this! I'm so hungry." Shinseki said. His stomach growled in agreement.

Kiba lifted a deer onto his shoulder, and the three people (and Akamaru) headed back to the camp.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Different**_

Ch.5

"Hey Dog Boy! Hurry up!" Sakura yelled back to Kiba. He seemed to be struggling with his "package" (the deer). He had fallen behind a considerable amount since they had begun to go back to the campsite.

"Shut up!" Kiba yelled back. "This thing is heavy! And you're monstrously strong!"

**Bang!**

Thus, the boring conversation ended with Kiba getting banged hard on the head.

Back at the campsite, Hinata and Shino were just getting back after a somewhat _awkward_, um, walk, through the woods. After handing her collected wood to Kurenai, she vowed to stay as far away from Shino as possible. I guess you could say that the whole event in the woods had left her a little shaken up. Meanwhile, Kurenai started making a fire, with hopes that Sakura and Kiba would be back soon.

"Oh my God, I can't believe this! How long does it take to get a stupid bit of food?" Temari burst out (remember, she's the one that's traveling with them to Suna. To really get all the details on this, you should read the first few chapters; I think it's in there somewhere). Her outburst caused everyone in the camp to look her way.

"What?" She asked.

A few minutes later, Sakura and Kiba arrived back at the campsite. Sakura appeared first, followed by a boy who looked about her age (this was Shinseki), and then Kiba, following far behind, and looking exhausted. As soon as they got into the campsite, he collapsed on the ground. Sakura set her deer down by the fire and turned back to face Kiba.

"Hey Dog Boy, get up," she said in an annoyed tone of voice. "C'mon, you can't be _that_ weak."

Kiba looked up, obviously extremely angry about the remark. He put his fist up in front of his face, as angry Naruto characters often do, and started yelling back at her. Meanwhile, the rest of the group watched the spectacle like it was the weirdest thing they had ever saw.

"Can you just get off my $#!&-ing case, you little – Mrmlpf!" was Kiba's reply to Sakura's remark. The _mrmlpf_ had come from Sakura stepping on the top of Kiba's head, and pushing his face into the ground.

"Hey, you can't say that word. First of all, because of the meaning, you can't say it because I'm not a dog. Second, you can't say that because there are immature people around here." Said Sakura.

"Like who?"

"Him." Sakura said, pointing at Shinseki.

"Hey, I am _not_ immature!" Shinseki said defensively, while sticking his tongue out at her.

Sakura gave him a look that said, _um, yeah you are, 'cause that right there was an immature thing to do you idiot!_

Shinseki took the hint, and didn't say or do anything else from that point on. Then, he noticed the rest of the mission squad looking at him.

"Um, excuse, but who are you?" Kurenai asked him. "And where did that wolf, Shinseki, or whatever his name was, go?" Shinseki looked at her, and started rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Um, that's me!" He told her. "See, I'm a demon, so I can switch between different, um, forms. You prob'ly wouldn't understand."

So the rest of the evening went on like that for a while. Hinata decided not to tell anyone about the thing that happened in the woods, hoping that she would eventually wake up and it would all be a dream. Shino, meanwhile, acted like nothing had happened, although he didn't say anything about it either.

The next day, the group arrived at Suna. After a quick inspection at the gates, they were allowed to go in the village.

When Hinata, Kiba, and Shino all let out little gasps. It was to be expected, though, by the members of the group that had already been to Suna before. The Hidden Sand Village was a truly magnificent place. It was like a big, bustling, city, except all of the buildings were made entirely out of sand. The group proceeded through the mass of buildings, following Temari to the center, which was where the Kazekage's office was.

When they arrived at the Kazekage's office, Temari told the ninja outside the door that the ninja group from Konoha Village was here to speak with the Kazekage.

"Oh yes, Kazekage-sama did mention something about that. Please excuse me while I go inform him of your arrival." The ninja left, and went through the doors at the front of the building.

"Hey sensei," Kiba asked, "Just who is the Kazekage, anyway?"

"Well, I knew who the old Kazekage was, but I think they have since gotten a new one, and-" Kurenai was suddenly cut off by a remark by Temari.

"Wait- you don't know who the Kazekage is?" She had an alarmingly high sound of surprise in her voice.

"Sakura, you know the Kazekage well. _You_ tell them who it is...Sakura?...Hey, are you listening to me?" Temari and the rest of the group were looking at Sakura. She had been sitting down and just looking at the sky it was obvious that she wasn't paying attention.

**Slap!**

Temari slapped Sakura in the face, hard enough the make her jump and turn around.

"What the hell was that for?"


	6. Chapter 6

Different 

Ch. 6

_Please review! I don't know how to make it better if I get no reviews._

The inside of the Kazekage's office was not as impressive as the village. In fact, the inside of the building looked rather similar to that of the Hokage's office back at Konohagakure. The only things that were actually different were the order of the rooms, the people, and the things that were hanging on the walls. Everyone was silent as they walked to the Kazekage's office. The only sound that actually stood out was the sound on Shinseki's nails hitting the floor as he walked (he had turned back to a regular sized wolf). Finally, they reached the office, and walked in the doors.

The First person to enter was Temari. The next to enter were the three genin, Shino, Hinata, and Kiba. When they got in the room, their mouths literally dropped open. Sitting at the Kazekage's desk was a fifteen-year-old Gaara. His hands were folded and propped up on his elbows and they partially hid the lower half of his face; but it was definitely Gaara. Next to enter was Kurenai. Her expression changed like she had just figured something out. The last to enter was Sakura. As she entered and went to stand next to Kurenai, Gaara's eyes narrowed, and watched her every move, as if she was evil, or there was some fine detail that he was trying to pick out. They stared at each other until one of them finally spoke:

"So..." Sakura said, "are we just going to stand here all d-" A sharp knock interrupted her mid-sentence.

At the door was a man who looked like an advisor. Gaara put down his hands, revealing the rest of his face.

"Excuse me, Kazekage-sama, but the counsel would like to start the meeting now, in order to preserve enough time for the ninja to make it back Konohagakure." The guard stated. "If everyone will follow me please..." the guard said as he started walking out the door and down the hall. Sakura had purposely lagged behind, so that she could have time to talk with Gaara. Sakura had kept her hands stuffed in her pockets, but they now hung loosely at her sides. Not wanting to look awkward, or like an idiot, she crossed her arms on her chest. "So... " She said to Gaara. Sakura stood there waiting for a response from him. She didn't really expect much, because he was normally very quiet.

"I need to get some stuff together, but I don't really know what...Here, you go on ahead, I don't wanna make you late..." And he started rambling on and mumbling to himself like a stressed out fifteen-year-old who was just getting used having a whole lot of work to do all at once. Sakura had also noticed that he had been a lot jumpier and irritable lately.

"Gaara..."

No response.

"Gaara."

Still no response came. Gaara just kept running around his office, throwing things up in the air like he was looking for something. He kept mumbling all the while.

"GAARA!"

This time, he looked up at her from where he was about to throw something aside. His expression said, "God, what the hell was that for?" Not only did his expression say it though, but also so did his mouth.

"What do you mean, 'what the hell was that for'? I tried to get your attention, like, two or three times earlier, and you ignored me because you were so worried about this weird meeting!" Sakura started walking over to him while he stood up. Their heights were about even, because Gaara was a little shorter than most of the guys his age. When Sakura reached him, she picked up his hands and held them in hers.

"I mean, look at your hands. They're shaking really, really, badly. And I can hear your heartbeat. It's a whole lot faster than normal. I've seen people stressed before, but not this badly." Gaara looked down at his hands. It turned out that Sakura was right. They really were shaking a whole lot. Plus, he had felt out of breath a lot this week, not to mention rushed and nervous. Then suddenly:

" I think you need to take a vacation, or at least relax a little bit sometime soon." Sakura said.

"What, are you kidding? We have a big new enemy on our hands! Do you even know why you and that team from Konoha were sent here? Plus, I have a whole lot of paperwork and other things to do that are very important, and have specific deadlines!" Came his response.

"One, I'm not kidding. Two, I _do_ know why _they_ were sent here: to talk to you about boring business stuff. _I_ was sent here with them because I had gone to visit my cousin and I was bored, so I went on the mission with them. Oh, and here's something else for ya: You've been out bursting lately, which is a sure sign of extreme stress. You're a fool if you can't recognize when you need help."

"Okay, are you done ranting and raving now so that we can go? I'm pretty sure they're all waiting for us."

"Hey! I was not ranting!"

"Okay, okay, so you weren't ranting and raving. Can we just go now?"

"Hey, I only said that I wasn't ranting. I never denied the fact that I was raving."

"Okay, I get it already! You were _raving_, this conversation is dumb, we're going to get yelled at by the village advisors if we don't go to the meeting, and did I mention that we need to go?"

"What did I tell you? You are way stressed. You need a vacation."

"This conversation is over."

"Okay."

"Okay."

A/N: When there is a repeat of the words, it's just Sakura and Gaara agreeing with each other.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Shut up."

Thus ended the idiotic conversation, and the pair walked toward the meeting room, expecting to get weird looks from everyone, on account of being so late.

It turned out that their predictions came true. When they pulled open the door, everyone turned their heads and they received death glares from most of the adults. They went and sat down at the only empty seats: the one at the head of the table, and the one next to it.

A/N: The meeting began, and Sakura and Gaara did get yelled at afterward (well, they couldn't really yell at Gaara, but they yelled at Sakura.) I'm not gonna describe the meeting because meeting are boring, and it would be a waste of a chapter. There was one exciting thing that happened though: Since Sakura's dad was a demon lord (I think I at least mentioned the part about the demon. Oh well, at least it doesn't give anything away.), he had a massive army (about 30-40,000 men). Now that Sakura's whole family is gone, she's the only one who can take over, so she inherited the army. Anyway, she gives them permission to use the army.

P.S.: To anyone who reviews: I will worship the ground you walk on! (seriously)


End file.
